Life Spugs because...

[Dandontdare]

When he said "show me how it's done Grandad?" you should have  said "Okay then" and:

A) Performed a series of wheelies, jumps and flips so impressive that he'd be forever in awe of your coolness
B) ridden off on his bike cackling "It's MINE now, BWAHAHAHAHA"
C) Stamped repeatedly on the rear wheel and said "Try riding it now, pusface!"
D) Picked it up and bludgened him around the head with it.

[GordonR]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkI9h7EGYvI

[The Legendary Shark]

Ah, DDD... as if my own bout of l'esprit de l'escalier wasn't bad enough as it is, you've just made it worse.

I don't know if this lot were rappers or not as there is no corn exchange near here... I think there's a corn exchange in Preston, but there isn't one here. We do have a car park, though - but it isn't multi-storey. Nor is it near the corn exchange because we don't have a corn exchange. So I don't think they could be rappers of the kind you'd expect see on Top of the Pops.

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

Someone on this board has signature that goes along the lines of:
Never get into an arguement with an idiot, because they'll just drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.

Children, my Selachimorphic co-boarder, are bloody-minded idiots. It's best to deal with them as you would a drunkard.

"Hoy!" says I, trying to be all reasonable like. "Don't do that, kid, you're ruining that bench!"

Children don't respond to reason. I would have rephrased that thusly:

'WHAT IN THE NAME OF FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? YOU'RE FUCKING WRECKING THAT BENCH! PACK THAT SHIT IN, RIGHT THE FUCK NOW!!!'

Working as a security guard has taught me that if you want teenagers to respond/comply, ye have to shout and swear at them

Kids respect an Adult Who Swears. It works for most hip-hop artists.

[Dandontdare]

Selachimorphic

OI - YOU WITH THE HIGH-FALUTIN' WORDS! WHAT IN THE NAME OF FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? PACK IT IN NOW!

[Emperor]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkI9h7EGYvI

The first link in the side column there is this, which would have worked just as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFTbrogDhV8&feature=related

[Emperor]

Oh and life spugs... because. Just because for now, as some close relatives haven't been informed yet

The upside is - I'm being awfully productive as I'd rather do anything else than think about it.

[TordelBack]

That sounds bloody grim Emperor, my non-specific but sincere sympathies.

[paddykafka]

Hey, Emp! Just want to echo Tordel's post and hope that whatever it is that's making life spug for you can be sorted out. Cheers, mate!

[The Legendary Shark]

Sorry to hear that, Emps. My thoughts are with you.

[HdE]

Well... poop.

Another frustration in my fledgeling comics career. I'd set up a listing on the Comic Art Commissions website, only to be told that my profile needed to be rebuilt to include my real name.

Ain't gonna happen. I'm militant to the point of stupidity about revealing my real name and other personal details. Non negotiable. End of. So that avenue is closed to me.

The explanation I was given seems reasonable enough, though, so I won't get a proper whinge on here. But who'd have thought the decision to operate exclusively under a pseudonym would cause problems, eh?

[Van Dom]

Sorry to hear that HdE. That's pretty annoying alright, I'd feel the same way myself!!!

So I haven't been posting much here lately. I've been going through a bit of a rough patch in work. Well, a big rough patch really. Basically, it looks like the company I have worked for for fifteen years, ever since graduating from college, is going to shut down. Its a sheetfed printing company, and things in that market have been drying up for a long time. Its finally gotten to the point where the sales are so low and there is barely enough money being generated each week to pay the wages.  Its so bad in fact, that the only way it will keep going at all now is if all staff take a 33 per cent paycut. 33 per cent! That has a massive impact on everyone, and me in particular as the sole earner in the family, with a wife and four kids to support. Basically, that kind of a cut would kill us, and would leave me earning very little more than I'd be able to claim on the dole. I've run the figures and my take home pay would be 40 euros more than what I'd get on basic dole, not counting any extra benefits I might be able to claim such as mortgage relief/heating support etc. I would literally be better off unemployed, as it doesnt make any sense to me to be working a full, very hard week full of stress and worry for such a small amount of cash.  But what do you do? Making the jump is so frightening. The company is saying that even with these paycuts there is no guarantee we will survive past August. They have offered the option of voluntary redundancy. I could take that and its worth about 17 grand to me, go on the dole, try to find another job...but I know there is precious little out there, and especially when you are in your late 30s and require a certain level of pay. Also, I'm not really qualified for anything outside of the print industry, and thats practically dead in Ireland. It's quite depressing. But I know I'm in the majority here. This is the kind of dilemma facing hundreds, if not thousands, of people every day.

So my options seem to be
- Stick it out, take the MASSIVE paycut, and hang in there for as long as the company remains open. 40 euros a week more than the dole is still 40 euros a week more than the dole...is it worth it though?

- Take the redundancy and leave, sign on and take my chances with trying to find another job - though I have ex-colleague friends who took voluntary redundancy 2 years ago and they still haven't found anything.

- Take the redundancy, rent or sell my house (if that's even possible nowadays), and move to Tokyo, try my chances there. Though my Japanese is still at a very basic level and...well...its not exactly the safest place in the world at the moment is it? Seems like there are no concerns over radiation levels anymore but they are still getting hit by quakes on a regular basis and who's to say there's not another whopper waiting in the wings?

I'm not really looking for advice or suggestions, just wanted to get this off my chest a bit and  explain why I havent been posting latey. My head and my heart just haven't been in it  I'm afraid. Apologies to all for all the cool creative stuff I've no doubt missed out on, and for any comps I've missed out on voting in!

D.

[The Legendary Shark]

That sucks, Van Dom.

Don't know what it's like over there, but you might not even get dole if your redundancy payment is over a certain amount.

Best of luck to you, though. You'll find your way through this.

[vzzbux]

That's pretty shit there Van Dom, I hope all works out well for you whatever you decide to do.





V

[TordelBack]

Spectacularly crap, Van Dom.  Having just put all my own colleagues through that very set of choices and sequence of events, I truly sympathise.